FO Dev Manager

FO Dev Manager is a Windows desktop utility for managing Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations development profiles, repositories, models, deployment links, Git workflows, Visual Studio solutions, and compiled NuGet package builds.

The primary experience is the WinUI 3 desktop app. A console entry point is still available for profile and model operations.

Current Version

• App version: 1.1.5
• Runtime: .NET 10
• UI: WinUI 3, Windows App SDK
• Platform: Windows x64

What It Manages

FO Dev Manager keeps a complete FO development setup in a profile:

• Profile name, active state, database name, and solution path
• Git repositories and repository-level settings
• Source models under repository Metadata and Project folders
• Compiled models and compiled NuGet model dependencies
• Deployment state for symbolic links into PackagesLocalDirectory
• Task metadata, Git branch information, and repository health state

Profiles are stored locally as JSON and can also be imported from repository artifacts.

Key Features

Profile Management

• Create, delete, switch, import, and export developer profiles
• Store profile artifacts in repositories for repeatable team setup
• Import profiles directly from a Git repository
• Detect model changes in repo-stored profile artifacts and prompt for re-import
• Apply the profile database name to FO web.config

Repository-Aware Model Management

• Group models by Git repository in the UI
• Track repository root, Git URL, preferred branch, main branch, and last known branch
• Support source, compiled, and compiled NuGet model types
• Keep repository-backed and standalone models in the same profile
• Assign task metadata at repository level

Deployment Automation

• Deploy and undeploy profile models by creating or removing links under PackagesLocalDirectory
• Check deployment status against actual filesystem state
• Prepare compiled NuGet model folders before deployment or package builds
• Keep profile deployment flags aligned with the detected state

Git Workflows

• Fetch and inspect repository status from the active profile
• Switch repositories to task branches with optional auto-stash behavior
• Merge the configured main branch into the active branch when needed
• Reset a profile safely by stashing changes, checking out main, fetching, and fast-forward pulling
• Open repository URLs from the UI

Visual Studio Solution Management

• Resolve the solution path from the active profile
• Prefer the main FO model repository for solution ownership
• Create or reuse solutions when importing or switching profiles
• Add source model projects without duplicating model entries
• Open the active profile solution from the app

Compiled NuGet Models

• Add or update compiled NuGet model references from package URLs
• Track package ID, version, source URL, and extracted compiled model folder
• Download private package feed dependencies using configured Azure Artifacts credentials
• Use Build\isv.config to resolve compiled NuGet package references per repository
• Include only descriptor-referenced compiled NuGet models when building a source model package

Package Build Workflow

• Build source FO models into compiled NuGet artifacts
• Restore FO build packages and compiler packages through NuGet
• Include standard FO references, compiled NuGet references, and model-specific binary dependencies
• Generate package build solutions for source models
• Optionally push the created compiled NuGet package to a configured feed
• Log build diagnostics and NuGet failures with actionable messages

Settings And Installer Support

• Configure Azure Artifacts username, PAT, and API key for private feeds
• Configure a custom nuget.exe path when it is not available on PATH
• Configure automatic package push behavior after package builds
• Preserve existing installed appsettings.json during installer upgrades
• Enable long path support in the app manifest

Prerequisites

• Windows 10 or Windows 11 x64
• Developer Mode enabled for link creation workflows
• Visual Studio 2022 with Dynamics 365 FO development tooling
• .NET 10 SDK
• Git CLI
• nuget.exe on PATH or configured in Settings
• Access to any private Azure Artifacts feeds used by repository nuget.config or Build\isv.config

Build And Run

From the repository root:

dotnet build FODevManager.sln
dotnet publish FODevManager.WinUI\FODevManager.WinUI.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true

Run the desktop app from the publish output:

FODevManager.WinUI.exe

The Inno Setup script builds the installer from the WinUI publish folder:

innosetup.iss

Configuration

The WinUI app reads FODevManager.WinUI\appsettings.json. Installed applications keep their own copy under the install directory.

{
  "ProfileStoragePath": "%APPDATA%\\FODevManager",
  "DeploymentBasePath": "C:\\AOSService\\PackagesLocalDirectory",
  "DefaultSourceDirectory": "C:\\Dev\\FO",
  "DeployablePackages": "%APPDATA%\\FODevManager\\DeployablePackages",
  "ModelIdBegin": 896001001,
  "ModelIdEnd": 896009999,
  "TaskUrl": "https://tasks.peritus.no/nb-NO/Case/Details/",
  "CheckUncommittedBeforeSwitch": false,
  "AzureArtifactsUsername": "",
  "AzureArtifactsPat": "",
  "AzureArtifactsApiKey": "",
  "NuGetExecutablePath": "",
  "PushDeployablePackageOnBuild": false,
  "PushDeployablePackageSource": ""
}

Important settings:

• ProfileStoragePath: local profile JSON and app data root
• DeploymentBasePath: FO PackagesLocalDirectory
• DefaultSourceDirectory: default source repository root
• DeployablePackages: extracted compiled NuGet package storage
• NuGetExecutablePath: optional explicit path to nuget.exe
• PushDeployablePackageOnBuild: push compiled NuGet packages immediately after build
• PushDeployablePackageSource: feed name or source used when pushing packages

Console Usage

The console project remains available for profile and model automation:

fodev.exe -profile "DevProfile" <command> [options]

Profile commands:

Command	Description
create	Creates a new profile
import	Imports a profile JSON file
delete	Deletes a profile
check	Validates profile paths and state
list	Lists profiles or models in a profile
deploy	Deploys all undeployed models
undeploy	Undeploys all deployed models
open-vs	Opens the active profile solution
git-fetch	Fetches latest Git state for repositories
switch	Switches to the selected profile
db-set	Sets the profile database name
db-apply	Applies the database name to FO configuration

Model commands:

Command	Description
-model "Name" add "path"	Adds a model to the profile
-model "Name" remove	Removes a model from the profile
-model "Name" deploy	Deploys one model
-model "Name" undeploy	Undeploys one model
-model "Name" check	Checks deployment state
-model "Name" git-status	Checks whether the model is in a Git repository
-model "Name" git-open	Opens the model repository remote URL
-model "Name" peri	Assigns task metadata

Project Structure

FODevManager/
  FODevManager/                 Console entry point
  FODevManager.WinUI/           WinUI 3 desktop app
  FoDevManager.Shared/          Models, services, config, logging, Git and file helpers
  FODevManager.Tests/           NUnit tests for services and workflows
  docs/superpowers/             Design specs and implementation plans
  innosetup.iss                 Installer definition

Important service areas:

• ProfileService: profile lifecycle, import/export, repository/model orchestration
• ModelDeploymentService: deployment and undeployment link handling
• DeployablePackageService: compiled NuGet package install, reference resolution, and package builds
• VisualStudioSolutionService: solution creation, project discovery, and package build solution generation
• GitHelper: Git command execution and repository state helpers

Tests

Run the test suite with:

dotnet test FODevManager.sln

The tests cover command parsing, profile handling, deployment behavior, Visual Studio solution generation, compiled NuGet package preparation, and package build reference resolution.

Current Roadmap

• Improve deployment status consistency and symlink validation
• Continue reducing orchestration in MainWindow.xaml.cs
• Expand compiled NuGet package install and update workflows
• Improve Git remote parsing beyond Azure DevOps-specific assumptions
• Add more service-level tests for profile switching, import/export, and package workflows

Contributing

• Prefer small, focused changes that preserve existing profile and repository workflows
• Keep source models, compiled models, and compiled NuGet models in scope when changing model logic
• Preserve persisted profile JSON contracts unless a migration strategy is included
• Use MessageLogger for app and shared-service logging

License

Licensed under the MIT License.